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LOT 2402
African Wooden Ancestor Figure
YORUBA TRIBE, 20TH CENTURY A.D.
17 1/2 in. (600 grams, 44.5 cm).
A hand-carved standing female figure with hands placed by the side and scarification to the face, breasts and stomach. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Southwest Nigeria, West Africa.
From an old Bristol, UK, ethnographical collection.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Human figures are represented in a fundamentally naturalistic way, except for bulging eyes; flat, protruding, and usually parallel lips; and stylised ears. Within the basic canon of Yoruba sculpture, many local styles can be distinguished, down to the hand of the individual artist.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Baule Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
A carved mask with crested horns and decorated in tones of white, red and blue. 620 grams, 39.4 cm
From Ivory Coast, West Africa. From an old Derby, UK, collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The Baule people is one of the largest ethnic groups in the Côte d'Ivoire. Wooden masks allow a closer contact with the supernatural world and correspond to several types of dances: the gba gba, the bonu amuen, the mblo and the goli. They never represent the ancestors and are always worn by men. -
African Wooden Fertility Figure
Bamileke Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Carved in the round naked female with knees flexed standing on a grotesque male head. 1.43 kg, 65 cm
From Cameroon, Central Africa. From the estate of Dr J Bynon. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
This is a carved wooden tribal figure, part of the door frame of the Chief's house, from the Bamileke tribe. A large number of prestigious items of paraphernalia were produced within the Grassland area, including large house-posts, door and window frames carved with human and animal figures, thrones, stools and tables decorated with small heads and figures, large bowls, carved horns for royal feasts, anthropomorphic terracotta and bronze pipes. -
Indonesian Tau Tau Funerary Wooden Head
Toraja People, late 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Funerary peg head with bald scalp, delicate facial features with grooves delineating the piercing eyes and shallow lips; below the neck a cylindrical protrusion to be slotted into the carving of its body, commemorating a deceased person. 780 grams, 35 cm
From South Central Sulewesi, Indonesia. Ex private Surrey, UK, ethnographic collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
